How Adam Smith Learned to Bargain

Abstract

Whilst this Authentic Account opens with a consideration of some early biographical material, it is not a biography of Adam Smith. However, some biographical material is central to the forming of Adam Smith’s personal character that played such an important role in his contributions to the Scottish Enlightenment. Absent such knowledge of Adam Smith’s background, much that is really important to our understanding of the man and his scholarship would be, and often is, missed. Mistaken modern commentaries and assessments of his life’s work, as well as many monumental errors of attribution, persist even in public pronouncements about Adam Smith in both today’s multimedia and, sadly, also in scholarly discourse.